3.1
The terms of reference ask the Committee to investigate the prevalence of modern slavery in Australia and globally, and in the supply chains of entities operating in Australia.
3.2
Evidence to this inquiry highlights the significant challenges in measuring the prevalence of modern slavery due to the lack of an agreed definition of what ‘modern slavery’ entails.
3.3
This chapter examines the definition of modern slavery and the challenges in measuring its prevalence in Australia and around the world.
Definitions of modern slavery
‘Modern slavery’
3.4
The Committee notes that there is no globally agreed definition of ‘modern slavery’. The term is used to cover a range of exploitative practices including human trafficking, slavery, forced labour, child labour, removal of organs and slavery-like practices.
3.5
The Committee notes that modern slavery is increasingly being used by advocacy groups, international organisations and governments (including the UK) to refer to a wide range of exploitative crimes. The Walk Free Foundation submitted that the term ‘modern slavery’ is used to describe a broad range of crimes and is used across the world:
This term is an update of the term ‘contemporary forms of slavery’ which was used for decades by the United Nations to address the same issues. We use this term because it is consistent with international efforts and legislation including the UK Modern Slavery Act, it is increasingly internationally recognised (in academic circles and mainstream media) and, critically, it is one that a range of stakeholders are increasingly familiar with, including the private sector and civil society.
3.6
The Committee notes that the Walk Free Foundation and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), have developed a methodology to define and measure ‘modern slavery’.
3.7
However, a number of submitters expressed concern about the use of the term ‘modern slavery’ as it does not have an agreed legal definition. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) submitted that:
While ‘modern day slavery’ might be useful as an advocacy and umbrella term that seeks to bring together the variety of situations in which a person is forcibly or subtly controlled by an individual or a group for the purpose of exploitation, UNODC notes that there is no internationally agreed definition of ‘modern day slavery’ or ‘modern slavery’, let alone the legal definition of the term.
3.8
These submitters highlighted that the crimes considered under the term ‘modern slavery’ are clearly defined in international law. International human rights expert, Dr Anne Gallagher AO, noted that:
The term [modern slavery] is a recent one and has come into vogue partly because of the complexities surrounding concepts that are typically subsumed under its umbrella, namely: slavery; servitude; trafficking in persons; forced labour; debt bondage; forced marriage; and sale of or sexual exploitation of children. The latter terms are defined in international legal instruments to which most States, including Australia, are party.
3.9
Submitters highlighted that any definition of ‘modern slavery’ in Australian legislation should refer to the globally agreed definitions of the various crimes as defined by international law. Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest international human rights organisation, submitted:
… this question of, “What is slavery?” is not a matter for social scientific contention. It is something that has been established in international law as a result of considerable effort over the past 100 years to provide a robust framework for the continuing struggle against slavery. National law should pay close attention to this international framework.
3.10
The definitions of the various crimes that fall under the umbrella term of modern slavery, as outlined in international law are examined below.
International law
Slavery
3.11
Slavery is defined by the 1926 Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery as:
… the condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised.
3.12
The definition of slavery was expanded by the 1956 Supplementary Convention to the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery to apply to slavery-like practices, including debt bondage, serfdom, servile forms of marriage and exploitation of children. Box 3.1 outlines these definitions.
Box 3.1: Institutions and practices similar to slavery
The following slavery-like practices are defined in the 1956 Supplementary Convention to the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery.
Debt bondage: The status or condition arising from a pledge by a debtor of his personal services or of those of a person under his control as security for a debt, if the value of those services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.
Serfdom: The condition or status of a tenant who is by law, custom or agreement bound to live and labour on land belonging to another person and to render some determinate service to such other person, whether for reward or not, and is not free to change his status.
Forced marriage: Any institution whereby:
i.
A woman, without the right to refuse, is promised or given in marriage on payment of a consideration in money or in kind to her parents, guardian, family or any other person or group; or
ii.
The husband of a woman, his family, or his clan, has the right to transfer her to another person for value received or otherwise; or
iii.
A woman on the death of her husband is liable to be inherited by another person.
Exploitation of children: Any institution or practice whereby a child or young person under the age of 18 years, is delivered by either or both of his natural parents or by his guardian to another person, whether for reward or not, with a view to the exploitation of the child or young person or of his labour.
Human trafficking
3.13
Article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol) defines human trafficking as:
… the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
3.14
The Trafficking Protocol is the first legally binding international instrument with an agreed definition of trafficking in persons. The Palermo Protocol supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, signed in Palermo, Italy in December 2000. The Convention is the main international instrument to combat transnational organised crime and is administered by the UNODC.
3.15
In its submission, the UNODC noted that the definition of trafficking in persons ‘already includes forced labour, slavery or practices similar to slavery, and servitude as forms of exploitation in trafficking in persons’. The UNODC further noted that the Convention and Protocol, ‘provide an existing international legal basis for formal and informal international cooperation for what is very often a cross-border crime’.
Forced labour
3.16
The ILO’s Forced Labour Convention, 1930 defines forced or compulsory labour as:
… all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.
3.17
Under subsequent ILO Conventions, including the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) and Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, states have committed to a range of measures to prevent and eliminate the use of forced labour.
3.18
Some submitters recommended that the Australian Government ratify the 2014 Protocol to demonstrate its commitment to effectively addressing and preventing forced labour. The Australian Government noted it is currently considering ratifying the 2014 Protocol.
Child labour and the worst forms of child labour
3.19
UNICEF defines child labour as:
… work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. The term refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities...
3.20
The ILO’s Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment, 1973 (No. 138) was developed ‘with a view to achieving the total abolition of child labour’.
3.21
The ILO’s Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182), defines the worst forms of child labour as:
(a) all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
(b) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
(c) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties;
(d) work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children.
UK Modern Slavery Act
3.22
Under the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK Act), ‘modern slavery’ offences include slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking. Part 1 of the UK Act provides definitions of each of these offences.
3.23
The Committee heard that the consolidation of offences was necessary because, prior to the introduction of the UK Act, human trafficking and slavery offences were spread across different pieces of legislation and, in some cases, not clearly articulated. Ms Caroline Haughey, who conducted the review of the UK Act, told the Committee:
… prior to 2011, we had trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation and sexual exploitation. The sexual exploitation was found in the Sexual Offences Act. Labour exploitation was found in an immigration act. Trafficking for labour exploitation was a consistently new offence, so historic cases were not able to be prosecuted. We also found that we were being challenged in prosecuting modern slavery. It didn't exist in the United Kingdom, ironically, before the Coroner's Act and it was not as well crafted as it is in the new legislation.
3.24
The UK Act consolidated the existing offences in other legislation under the label ‘modern slavery’. Submitters noted that the term ‘modern slavery’ has no legal standing in the UK and is not defined in the UK Act. Dr Nicole Siller, a lecturer at Deakin Law School, argued that, from a ‘substantive criminal law perspective’, it is:
... doubtful that the legislative relabelling of the exploitative offences of slavery, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking as "modern slavery" can be considered anything more than a cosmetic change used to garner attention and political support for the bill's passage.
3.25
A number of submitters criticised the definitions of offences under the UK Act for not being consistent with international law, particularly its definition of trafficking. UNICEF UK submitted that:
… one of the major flaws of the Modern Slavery Act is that it simply consolidates all the existing offences of various forms of human trafficking into a single act, rather than aligning the definitions of modern slavery with international human rights law …
3.26
Other submitters expressed concern that ‘modern slavery’ was too narrowly defined and did not refer to other exploitative practices. For example, UNICEF Australia expressed concern that the UK definition of ‘modern slavery’ does not include reference to child labour or the worst forms of child labour:
In practice, this means that the millions of children engaged in hazardous work globally are not covered by the transparency in supply chain provision, nor are the many more engaged in child labour generally. This is a significant omission, particularly given the known prevalence of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour throughout the world.
Australian law
3.27
Australia’s legal and policy frameworks reflect its international obligations to address human trafficking and slavery. The Australian Government uses the term ‘human trafficking and slavery’ rather than ‘modern slavery’ to describe the range of exploitative crimes criminalised under Australian legislation.
3.28
Australia has ratified a number of international instruments that form part of the international legal framework to combat human trafficking and slavery, including the:
Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, ratified 1958;
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, ratified 2004;
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, ratified 2005; and
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, ratified 2006.
3.29
Australia’s legislative framework includes a number of different pieces of legislation. Box 3.2 outlines the key instruments addressing human trafficking and slavery.
Box 3.2: Australian legislative framework
Criminal Code Act 1995 – Criminalises trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices.
Crimes Act 1914 – Provides protections for trafficked persons when giving evidence and allows a court to order that offenders make reparation to victims.
Migration Act 1958 – Provides offences for allowing an unlawful non-citizen to work or breach work-related visa conditions, and to contrive a marriage for the purpose of obtaining a visa. Changes in 2015 strengthened penalties for paying for visa sponsorship.
Fair Work Act 2009 – Empowers the Fair Work Ombudsman to enforce compliance with the Fair Work Act.
Marriage Act 1961 – Provides offences for solemnising or going through a ceremony of marriage with a person who is not of marriageable age.
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 – Provides a scheme for tracing, restraining and confiscating the proceeds of crime, including trafficking and slavery.
3.30
The Australian Government has comprehensively criminalised human trafficking and slavery under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. Division 270 criminalises slavery and slavery-like practices, and Division 271 contains specific offences for trafficking in persons and debt bondage. Table 3.1 highlights the offences outlined in the Criminal Code.
Table 3.1: Slavery offences under the Criminal Code
|
|
|
|
|
|
Slavery
|
270.3
|
25 years imprisonment
|
|
|
Servitude
|
270.5
|
15 years imprisonment
|
20 years imprisonment for aggravated offence
|
|
Forced labour
|
270.6A
|
9 years imprisonment
|
12 years imprisonment
|
|
Deceptive recruiting for labour or services
|
270.7
|
7 years imprisonment
|
9 years imprisonment
|
|
Forced marriage
|
270.7B
|
4 years imprisonment
|
7 years imprisonment
|
|
Trafficking in persons
|
271.2
|
12 years imprisonment
|
25 years imprisonment
|
|
Domestic trafficking
|
271.5
|
12 years imprisonment
|
20 years imprisonment
|
|
Child trafficking
|
271.7
|
25 years imprisonment
|
|
|
Organ trafficking
|
271.7B
|
12 years imprisonment
|
20 years imprisonment
25 years imprisonment where victim under 18 years
|
|
Debt bondage
|
271.8
|
4 years imprisonment
|
7 years imprisonment
|
3.31
Figure 3.1, provided by Slavery Links Australia, highlights the ‘hierarchy of slavery offences’ outlined in the Criminal Code.
3.32
The offences in the Criminal Code were significantly strengthened in 2013 to include new offences for forced marriage, harbouring a victim, standalone offences for forced labour and organ trafficking, and broadening existing offences of sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting for sexual services.
3.33
The offences in Division 270 have extra-territorial, universal jurisdiction and apply to conduct within or outside of Australia, and whether or not the offender was an Australian corporation, citizen, or resident. The offences in Division 271, with the exception of domestic trafficking and organ trafficking, have extended geographical jurisdiction and can apply where the conduct occurred in Australia, or where the conduct occurred outside Australia but the offender was an Australian corporation, citizen or resident.
3.34
The Australian Government has developed definitions of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices which are operationalised through guidance across Government and are consistent with the offences set out in the Criminal Code and Australia’s international obligations. The Australian Government noted that ‘slavery’ is only used to describe the most serious exploitative conduct and thus it distinguishes slavery from slavery-like practices. The Australian Government conceptualises these practices as occurring on a ‘continuum of seriousness’, with slavery at the most serious end, followed by servitude, forced labour, forced marriage and debt bondage. Box 3.3 outlines these definitions.
Box 3.3: Australian Government definitions
Human trafficking: the movement of a person into, out of, or within Australia through the use of coercion, threats or deception for certain exploitive end purposes. These exploitive end purposes are slavery, servitude, forced labour, forced marriage and debt bondage.
Slavery: occurs when a person exercises the rights of ownership over another person. This includes the power to make the victim an object of purchase or to use their labour or services in a substantially unrestricted manner.
Servitude: occurs when the victim does not consider themselves free to cease providing their labour or services OR to leave their place or area of work because of the use of coercion, threats or deception. To be in a condition of servitude, the victim must also be significantly deprived of their personal freedom.
Forced labour: occurs when the victim does not consider themselves free to cease providing their labour or services OR to leave their place or area of work because of the use of coercion, threats or deception.
Forced marriage: occurs when the victim gets married without freely and fully consenting because they have been coerced, threatened or deceived or because they are incapable of understanding the nature and effect of a marriage ceremony.
Debt bondage: occurs when the victim pledges their services or the services of a third person as security for a real or purported debt where this debt is: manifestly excessive; or the reasonable value of their services is applied to the debt; or the length and nature of their services are not limited or defined.
3.35
As noted in Chapter 2, the Australian Government policy response to addressing the human trafficking and slavery crimes outlined in the Criminal Code is implemented through the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery 2015-19 (National Action Plan).
Defining modern slavery
Support for existing definitions
3.36
Submitters agreed that Australia’s legislative framework for defining and criminalising human trafficking and slavery offences is strong and robust. The Law Council of Australia submitted:
Australia already has a strong criminal law framework that criminalises human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, regardless of whether or not they occur in Australia or overseas.
3.37
The Committee heard strong support for maintaining Australia’s existing definitions for human trafficking and slavery offences, which are consistent with international law. Slavery Links submitted that:
Unlike Great Britain, Australia has not departed from its reliance on the definition of slavery as provided in the Supplementary Convention, 1956 and its parent, the Slavery Convention, 1926 … Australia should retain this aspect of our legal heritage and jurisprudence.
3.38
Mr Geoffrey Ripper from Slavery Links highlighted that the existing offences are clearly defined and supported by case law:
… the provisions in the Criminal Code dealing with slavery offences have been very carefully worked out and are clear and understandable and have now been fully investigated and ruled on by the High Court. There is absolute certainty there now. There is no need to change or diminish that degree of certainty.
3.39
Similarly, Ms Alison Rahill from the Salvation Army told the Committee:
Because it already exists in the Commonwealth Criminal Code, we are happy for it to stay there. The Modern Slavery Act should have support for victims and more clearly articulate that.
3.40
Submitters did not support introducing a new legal definition of ‘modern slavery’ in Australia. Dr Nicole Siller submitted:
As far as substantive criminal law is concerned Divisions 270 and 271 criminalise everything encompassed in the UK Modern Slavery Act and more. From a substantive criminal law perspective, the Criminal Code is also far more detailed and instructive than the UK Modern Slavery Act. The introduction of the term ‘modern slavery’ into Australian criminal law is therefore redundant and unnecessary.
3.41
Rather, submitters suggested that ‘modern slavery’ should only be used in a ‘non-legal sense’ to reference the existing offences in Division 270 and 271. Professor Anne Gallagher submitted that:
When considering changes to Australia’s legal framework, it will be important to acknowledge that, as in the UK, the term ‘modern slavery’ can only be used in a non-legal sense. Any new law will be required to do what Australia’s existing law already does: identify and then carefully define exploitative practices, such as trafficking in persons, forced labour or forced marriage, that are in fact being criminalised or otherwise addressed.
3.42
Dr Gallagher asked the Committee to consider ‘modern slavery’ as an advocacy term to help raise awareness of the crimes it encompasses:
If the position of the committee was that this is a useful advocacy and umbrella term that is affirmed to not have legal weight or significance but encompasses under it a range of criminal acts that have been subject to both international and national legal definition, then I think that that would be a very considered and positive approach.
3.43
Rather than amending Australia’s existing definitions, submitters suggested that a Modern Slavery Act would assist in raising the profile of the crimes outlined in the Criminal Code. Dr Mark Burton from Slavery Links told the Committee that a stand-alone Act could help in raising awareness and build on Australia’s strong legal framework to address modern slavery crimes:
If a contemporary slavery act was brought before the Australian parliament and passed into law, apart from giving it significant profile and a significant opportunity to educate lawyers, for a start, public prosecutors, police—this is the experience in the 2016 review in the United Kingdom by the Home Secretary of their modern slavery act—is that its educational value, because of its stand-alone nature, is spectacular. It really does highlight the point that this is a problem. It is ongoing. It has not gone away, it is not likely to and it has to be seriously addressed. It would not require new definitions.
3.44
Dr Burton told the Committee that a stand-alone piece of legislation would raise awareness of the offences in the Criminal Code:
I suggest a modern slavery act would have immense value in addressing the problem. Currently it appears to be hidden away within the Criminal Code, which for many people, many lawyers included, is a [labyrinthine] document … but it would bring it right to the fore.
Continuum of exploitation
3.45
Submitters highlighted that modern slavery crimes sit at the extreme end of a continuum of exploitative practices. Anti-Slavery Australia submitted:
… human trafficking and slavery exist at the extreme end of a spectrum of exploitative practices that may include for example, underpayment or non-payment of wages. Civil law breaches may in some cases be indicators of more severe, criminal forms of labour exploitation, such as human trafficking and slavery or forced labour.
3.46
Ms Jenny Stanger from the Salvation Army Freedom Partnership told the Committee:
Exploitation occurs on the same spectrum as trafficking and slavery. It is at one end, and at the far end are the worst forms of slavery, where someone is actually treated like an object for sale and purchase. So, there is a taking away of rights along the way. And if you look at our Criminal Code, it has addressed this with a range of offences. So, exploitation sits here, and then you would have perhaps debt bondage, and then you would have a forced labour situation, and then you would have servitude, and then you would have trafficking in persons. There is almost a grading of offences from the bad job that you can leave and the other situations where you feel trapped.
3.47
The Committee notes that the ILO has produced a set of indicators to identify forced labour that recognises a continuum of exploitation. This continuum includes: forced labour, child labour, debt bondage, isolation and confinement (including in prisons and private detention facilities), exploitative practices (including excessive overtime), abusive working and living conditions, restriction of movement, physical and sexual violence, intimidation and threats, retention of personal documents, withholding wages, deception, and the abuse of vulnerability.
3.48
Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand noted that acknowledging modern slavery as a part of a continuum ‘helps to shift attention solely from criminal law enforcement to the root causes of the problem, and hence effective and appropriate remedies’.
3.49
Submitters supported a definition of modern slavery that recognised it as existing on a continuum of exploitative practices. For example, United Voice submitted that it supports considering modern slavery as a continuum, rather than focussing on only those clearly defined crimes such as forced labour.
3.50
Chapter 9 examines measures to address the continuum of exploitative practices that may result in modern slavery.
Exploitation of children in residential institutions
3.51
Over the course of the inquiry, a number of submitters recommended that the exploitation of children in overseas residential institutions (‘orphanages’) and ‘orphanage trafficking’ should be considered as part of the Australian Government’s response to combatting modern slavery.
3.52
The Committee heard that in some developing countries, particularly Cambodia and Nepal, an increasing number of children are trafficked into orphanages for the purposes of exploitation to elicit donations from foreign tourists. Ms Tara Winkler, founder of the Cambodian Children’s Trust, told the Committee that these practices should be recognised as a form of modern slavery, and that any Modern Slavery Act should:
… include the regulation of Australian engagement with overseas orphanages. First and foremost, this act will serve to protect children, but it will also protect Australians from unintentionally acting in ways that harm the very children they are trying to help. By redirecting the flow of funds from orphanages towards family based care initiatives, we will help to close down an industry that sees children trafficked, exploited and abused and, instead, ensure that they are able to grow up in families and communities where they belong.
3.53
These submitters also highlighted that these practices are likely to indicate other modern slavery crimes, as children subjected to these exploitative practices are highly susceptible to fall victim to other forms of slavery once they leave the institutions.
3.54
Chapter 8 examines in detail measures to address the exploitation of children in residential institutions.
Committee view
3.55
The Committee recognises that ‘modern slavery’ has no agreed legal definition and is used as an umbrella term to describe a range of different exploitative crimes.
3.56
The Committee acknowledges that the individual crimes that fall under the umbrella of modern slavery are clearly defined in international and Australian law. The Committee recognises the importance of ensuring any future Australian legislation is consistent with international law. The Committee further recognises that the legal definitions under Division 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code are consistent with these international obligations.
3.57
The Committee recommends that the proposed Modern Slavery Act reference these existing definitions, as well as related offences, consistent with recommendation 1 of this report.
3.58
To demonstrate its commitment to effectively addressing and preventing forced labour, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government ratify the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.
3.59
The Committee recognises that ‘modern slavery’ is gaining currency as an advocacy term and helping to raise awareness of these crimes in Australia and around the world. The Committee uses the term ‘modern slavery’ throughout this report in a broad non-legal sense to refer to the range of exploitative practices as defined under international and Australian law.
3.60
The Committee recognises that modern slavery exists on a continuum of exploitative practices and that any efforts to address these crimes must also address other exploitative practices that may indicate or lead to modern slavery.
3.61
The Committee considers that any reference to or definition of ‘modern slavery’ in an Australian Modern Slavery Act or other legislation should refer to the existing definitions of crimes outlined in the Criminal Code, with modern slavery being used only as a non-legal umbrella term.
3.62
The Committee considers that orphanage trafficking and the exploitation of children in residential institutions overseas should be considered a form of modern slavery and should be recognised in Australia’s policy framework to addressing modern slavery.
3.63
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government ratify the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930.
3.64
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government define modern slavery in the proposed Modern Slavery Act as a non-legal umbrella term, to include but not be limited to:
modern slavery crimes outlined in Division 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (including slavery, servitude, forced labour, trafficking in persons, forced marriage, child trafficking, debt bondage and other slavery-like practices);
child labour and the worst forms of child labour, consistent with UNICEF’s definition of child labour and the International Labour Organisation’s Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, 1999 (No. 182);
child exploitation including in residential institutions and through orphanage trafficking; and
other slavery-like practices.
3.65
In drafting this definition, the Australian Government should also take into account the latest definitions of modern slavery by international bodies such as the International Labour Organisation and the Walk Free Foundation, as well as under international instruments and initiatives.
Prevalence of modern slavery
Global estimates
3.66
The Committee heard that, there is limited reliable data on the prevalence of ‘modern slavery’ around the world. Due to the lack of an agreed definition of ‘modern slavery’, estimates of its prevalence differ widely according to the different methods used.
3.67
The Committee notes that even where there are clear definitions, there are still significant challenges in measuring the prevalence of these crimes due to their hidden nature. Anti-Slavery Australia submitted:
Human trafficking and slavery are illegal and clandestine, making comprehensive data on the numbers of people living in slavery or slavery-like conditions difficult to estimate.
3.68
Throughout its inquiry, the Committee heard about the devastating impact of modern slavery on individual victims. These accounts highlighted the complexity of identifying and measuring modern slavery around the world. At its public hearing in Melbourne, the Committee heard from Ms Sophea Touch, a victim of domestic servitude in Cambodia. Box 3.4 outlines Ms Touch’s experience of modern slavery.
Box 3.4: Complexity of modern slavery – Ms Sophea Touch
I was born in a violent family—violence from my mother—and lived there from when I was born until the age of four. I was sent, by my father, in a car with a lady to live in a place 300 kilometres from my home. I was so small at about three or four years old and did not know whether I was sold or my father just wanted to save me from my mother's violence. Living far away from my family, I never had experience of what freedom was. No-one cared for me; I was forced to work selling cakes around the village and did not get a chance to go to school for an education ... Every day I lived with fear because I had to sell all the cakes. I was beaten by that lady every day and not given food to eat if I could not sell all the cakes. I was forced to sell all the cakes even if I was ill. I was not taken to the hospital or given medicine. What I received was violence all the time.
When I was seven years old, I tried to escape, but I was found by that lady and there was even more violence … I tried to run away many times. I tried to run away from that lady's home in order to find a family that could provide what I needed, like caring and getting me to school. But those families could not provide those needs for me. The four families that I lived with were the same; they beat me and forced me to work more than I should as a child.
The last family I lived with gave me enough food and got me to school, but they were even more violent to me. I felt so hopeless because I thought that there were not any other, better ways for me, so I decided to commit suicide on two occasions, by jumping from a window and by hanging myself. But I was still alive.
3.69
Ms Jo Pride from Hagar Australia, a charity that provided support to Ms Touch to escape from slavery in Cambodia, told the Committee:
Sophea’s story demonstrates the complexity of the issue of slavery. Sophea was in a situation of domestic servitude at a very, very young age that she could not leave; she talked about the hopelessness she felt in that situation. But she did leave, and moved from family to family, ultimately. That demonstrates how disadvantage can compound and then compound in these situations. Domestic servitude is one of the most hidden sides of modern slavery and yet it is so prevalent. It is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to measure with any certainty the prevalence of slavery in the world today.
3.70
The prevalence of some of the crimes considered ‘modern slavery’ has been measured by different United Nations bodies. The available estimates indicate that modern slavery is particularly prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region. These estimates are outlined below.
Forced labour estimates
3.71
The ILO measures the prevalence of forced labour. According to the ILO’s 2012 Global Estimate of Forced Labour, an estimated 20.9 million people across the world are victims of forced labour. Forced labour is classified into three main categories:
Forced labour – 14.2 million (68%) such as in agriculture, construction, domestic work and manufacturing;
Forced sexual exploitation – 4.5 million (22%); and
State-imposed forced labour – 2.2 million (10%) such as work imposed by state military or rebel armed forces.
3.72
The ILO’s estimates highlight that over half of the victims of forced labour (11.7 million) are in the Asia Pacific region. Figure 3.2 shows the geographical distribution of forced labour as estimated by the ILO.
3.73
The ILO’s 2014 report, Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour, estimates that forced labour in the private economy generates US$150 billion in illegal profits each year.
Human trafficking estimates
3.74
The UNODC’s 2016 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reported that 63 251 victims of trafficking were detected in 106 countries between 2012 and 2014. In 2014, over 70 per cent of the 17 752 victims were women or girls. In 2014, the main forms of exploitation for trafficking victims were:
Sexual exploitation – 54%;
Other forms of exploitation – 8%.
3.75
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) submitted that since the early 1990s, it has identified and assisted more than 90 000 victims of trafficking from 117 destination countries. The IOM noted that during this time, the global understanding of human trafficking has changed:
… from one involving the sexual exploitation of young women and girls in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, to one in which male and female victims are exploited in almost equal numbers around the world in sectors and industries that range from agriculture and fishing to care and hospitality, construction, domestic work, manufacturing, and many others.
3.76
The US Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report June 2016 notes that given the complex nature of human trafficking, documenting local, regional and global prevalence is difficult and, as such, additional efforts and resources for research, data collection and evaluation are needed.
Child labour estimates
3.77
The ILO estimates that 168 million children aged between 5 and 17 years are engaged in child labour, accounting for almost 11% of the world’s children. The highest numbers are in the Asia-Pacific region (78 million), with the highest proportion by population in Sub-Saharan Africa (over 21%). The number of victims of child labour and proportion of total child population by region are:
Asia Pacific – 78 million or 9.3%;
Sub-Saharan Africa – 59 million or over 21%;
Latin America and the Caribbean – 13 million or 8.8%; and
Middle East and North Africa – 9.2 million or 8.4%.
3.78
UNICEF estimates that 150 million children aged between 5 and 14 years old are engaged in child labour. An estimated 98 million child labourers are in the agriculture sector, with 54 million in services and 12 million in industry. In the least developed countries, nearly one in four children are engaged in work that is potentially harmful to their health.
‘Modern slavery’ estimates
3.79
Given the lack of agreed definitions, the Committee notes that there is limited reliable data on estimates of the global prevalence of ‘modern slavery’. International human rights law expert Dr Anne Gallagher AO told the Committee:
… the simple, largely unspoken truth is that we just don't know how many people have been, or are being, exploited, and the amount of money that such exploitation is generating.
3.80
Two recent examples of efforts to measure the prevalence of modern slavery are outlined below.
The Walk Free Foundation and the Global Slavery Index
3.81
The Walk Free Foundation (Walk Free) publishes the annual Global Slavery Index that attempts to measure the global prevalence of modern slavery. Walk Free was established in 2013 by Andrew and Nicola Forrest with a mission to end modern slavery in our generation.
3.82
Walk Free defines modern slavery as:
… situations where one person has taken away another person’s freedom – their freedom to control their body, their freedom to choose to refuse certain work or to stop working – so that they can be exploited. Freedom is taken away by threats, violence, coercion, abuse of power and deception. The net result is that a person cannot refuse or leave the situation.
3.83
In 2016, the Global Slavery Index estimated that 45.8 million people across the world were subject to some form of modern slavery. The Global Slavery Index suggests that two-thirds of modern slavery victims are in the Asia-Pacific region. The estimates suggest 58% of victims were in India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan, with the highest prevalence in North Korea, Uzbekistan and Cambodia.
3.84
Dr Anne Gallagher has criticised the methodology used by the Global Slavery Index as ‘complex and in part opaque and incomplete’, and for not acknowledging the complexities and limitations of quantifying the extent of slavery around the world. Dr Gallagher submitted:
The fact that there is no agreed definition of “modern slavery” means that recent efforts to measure the size of the modern slavery problem are deeply compromised from the outset. More generally, the methodologies being used to estimate the number of modern ‘slaves’ worldwide, or in any given country, are deeply flawed and there is reason to treat currently available estimates with great caution.
Alliance 8.7 and the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery
3.85
Alliance 8.7 is a global strategic partnership committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal Target 8.7, which is to:
Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.
3.86
Alliance 8.7 aims to bring together the different UN bodies (ILO, UNODC, UNICEF) working to combat forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour to better coordinate initiatives and improve data collection. Australia’s Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking, Mr Andrew Goledzinowski AM, highlighted that bringing these UN bodies together through Alliance 8.7:
… is an enormously important opportunity for us to start to work to break down the silos that exist within the UN system in particular which tend to demarcate these issues as being separate problems rather than one problem with four different characteristics.
3.87
Ambassador Goledzinowski told the Committee that Australia has been a strong supporter of Alliance 8.7 since it was launched in September 2016. The Ambassador noted that through Alliance 8.7, the UN is aiming to coordinate definitions and international efforts to address slavery, forced labour, trafficking and child labour:
The idea is that until we can develop a single, consistent narrative about what we see the problem is we cannot really begin to get people behind a solution.
3.88
As part of Alliance 8.7, in September 2017, the ILO and the Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), released the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery (Global Estimates).
3.89
The Global Estimates measure the prevalence of forced labour and forced marriage around the world. The Global Estimates suggest there were 40.3 million people living in modern slavery in 2016, of which one in four are children. This includes:
24.9 million living in forced labour; and
15.4 million people living in a forced marriage to which they had not consented.
Committee view
3.90
The Committee notes that there are significant challenges in collecting global data on the prevalence of modern slavery due to the lack of agreed definitions and the hidden nature of the crimes.
3.91
The Committee was particularly moved by evidence from Ms Sophea Touch and her harrowing experience of modern slavery in Cambodia. The Committee notes that Ms Touch’s experience highlights the significant challenges in identifying and measuring the prevalence of these insidious crimes.
3.92
The Committee notes that the available estimates indicate that modern slavery is a particular issue in the Asia Pacific region.
3.93
The Committee is encouraged by the initiatives undertaken by Alliance 8.7 to develop more effective data collection methods. The Committee welcomes the recent publication of the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery and collaboration between the ILO, IOM and the Walk Free Foundation.
3.94
The Committee notes Australia’s leadership in Alliance 8.7 and considers the Australian Government should continue working to align international efforts to define and measure modern slavery.
3.95
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continue its leadership role in Alliance 8.7 to support the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Organisation for Migration, UNICEF and other bodies to develop more effective ways to measure the global prevalence of modern slavery.
Prevalence of modern slavery in Australia
3.96
The Committee recognises the widely acknowledged past practices of slavery and slavery-like practices in Australia, particularly in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the ‘blackbirding’ of South Sea Islanders.
3.97
Evidence to this inquiry suggests that slavery and slavery-like practices continue to be found around Australia today. These cases of modern slavery are often ‘hidden in plain sight’ as many cases go undetected and unreported. Anti-Slavery Australia submitted:
Human trafficking and slavery in Australia are often hidden, or hidden in plain sight. Traffickers target people made vulnerable by social, cultural or political circumstances such as recent migrants, young people and refugees. Slavery and slavery-like practices occur in industries such as the sex industry, agriculture, hospitality, construction, and in private homes and in intimate or family relationships.
3.98
The hidden nature of modern slavery means that there is limited available data on its prevalence around Australia. The UK Home Secretary, the Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP, noted similar challenges to measuring modern slavery in the UK:
Like Australia, the UK is coming to terms with the fact that modern slavery is happening in our country and globally on a scale that was until recently unthinkable. It is challenging to measure the true scale of modern slavery. It is a serious crime that remains largely hidden, often in plain sight: many victims do not self-identify as such, and many more are reluctant to ask the authorities for help.
Profile of modern slavery risks
3.99
In its submission to the inquiry, the Australian Government provided the following profile of human trafficking and slavery risks in Australia:
Australia is primarily a destination country for human trafficking and slavery, with the majority of trafficked people identified by Australian authorities to date having been women from Asia who were exploited in the sex work industry. However, in recent years Australian authorities have found that men and women exploited in situations outside the sex work industry – such as in the domestic work, hospitality, agriculture and construction industries, or within intimate or family relationships – are now being identified in numbers exceeding those identified as exploited within the sex work industry. To a limited extent, Australia is also a source country for people who are forced to marry.
3.100
The US Trafficking in Persons Report has consistently reported that Australia is ‘primarily a destination country for women and girls subjected to sex trafficking and for women and men subjected to forced labor’. Box 3.5 outlines the profile of trafficking risks in Australia from its 2017 report.
Box 3.5: Trafficking in Persons Report 2017
The 2017 US Trafficking in Persons Report provides the following profile of trafficking risks in Australia:
A small number of children, primarily teenage Australian and foreign girls, are subjected to sex trafficking within the country. Some women from Asia and—to a lesser extent—Eastern Europe and Africa migrate to Australia to work legally or illegally in a number of sectors, including commercial sex. After their arrival, some of these women are coerced to enter or remain in prostitution. Some foreign women—and sometimes girls—are held in captivity, subjected to physical and sexual violence and intimidation, manipulated through illegal drugs, obliged to pay off unexpected or inflated debts to traffickers, or otherwise deceived about working arrangements. Some victims of sex trafficking and some women who migrate to Australia for arranged marriages are subjected to domestic servitude. Unscrupulous employers and labor agencies subject some men and women from Asia and several Pacific Islands recruited to work temporarily in Australia to forced labor in agriculture, construction, hospitality, and domestic service. Some identified victims are foreign citizens on student visas who pay significant placement and academic fees. Unscrupulous employers coerce students to work in excess of the terms of their visas, making them vulnerable to trafficking due to fears of deportation for immigration violations. Some foreign diplomats allegedly subject domestic workers to forced labor in Australia.
Anecdotal evidence
3.101
Anecdotal evidence to this inquiry supports the profiles of modern slavery risks outlined by the Australian Government and US Department of State.
3.102
Submitters identified a number of cases of modern slavery, including sex trafficking and forced labour. The Freedom Partnership to End Modern Slavery, a national movement led by the Salvation Army, submitted a number of recent case studies of modern slavery in Australia including:
migrant workers in the agricultural, construction and meat processing industries;
backpackers in the agricultural industry;
a domestic worker trafficked by a foreign diplomat; and
private domestic workers.
3.103
In particular, the Committee notes a number of recent cases highlighting the prevalence of the indicators of forced labour and debt bondage, particularly for migrant workers.
3.104
Chapter 9 examines measures to address the exploitation of migrant workers in Australia in more detail.
Data on modern slavery in Australia
3.105
The Committee heard that there is limited data available on the incidence of modern slavery crimes in Australia.
3.106
Since the introduction of offences in 2004, there have been over 750 referrals of human trafficking and slavery offences to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). The data suggests that forced marriage is the highest risk area in Australia, followed by sexual exploitation and labour exploitation. Table 3.2 outlines the number of cases of human trafficking and slavery referred to the AFP since 2013-14 by offence.
Table 3.2: Referrals of human trafficking and slavery offences to the AFP, 2013-14 to 2016-17, by offence
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forced marriage
|
11
|
33
|
69
|
60
|
|
Sexual exploitation
|
31
|
34
|
39
|
19
|
|
Labour exploitation
|
22
|
33
|
36
|
19
|
|
Child trafficking
|
2
|
11
|
10
|
6
|
|
Trafficking
|
2
|
4
|
13
|
9
|
|
Other
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
25
|
|
Total
|
70
|
119
|
169
|
138
|
Source: Australian Government, Response to Questions on Notice, 22 June 2017, p. 1.
3.107
The Australian Government noted that the majority of human trafficking and slavery referrals received by the AFP are in the metropolitan areas of each state and territory. For example, the Committee heard that in 2014 a case of modern slavery was revealed in a brothel in suburban Melbourne where a woman was held captive and found hidden in a secret wall cavity.
3.108
Table 3.3 outlines referrals by state and territory.
Table 3.3: Referrals of human trafficking and slavery offences to the AFP, 2013-14 to 2016-17, by jurisdiction
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
New South Wales
|
29
|
39
|
79
|
74
|
|
Victoria
|
14
|
39
|
57
|
29
|
|
Queensland
|
6
|
17
|
17
|
11
|
|
Western Australia
|
9
|
15
|
4
|
9
|
|
South Australia
|
4
|
2
|
6
|
12
|
|
Tasmania
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
|
Australian Capital Territory
|
7
|
7
|
1
|
1
|
|
Northern Territory
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
Source: Australian Government, Response to Questions on Notice, 22 June 2017, pp 3–5.
3.109
The Australian Government noted that intelligence suggests that some regional areas may be subject to a higher prevalence due to specific industries in those regions, such as the horticultural industry in the Mildura/Robinvale area of Victoria. However, in most other states and territories, referrals are ‘too sporadic to suggest the prevalence of human trafficking and slavery’.
3.110
However, submitters highlighted that this low number of referrals and prosecutions does not reflect the prevalence of these crimes in Australia, noting that many cases go undetected or unreported. During its visit to London, the delegation from the Committee heard that this experience was reflected in the UK.
3.111
Submitters highlighted the 2011 observation of the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children on the prevalence of trafficking in Australia:
… that the official numbers of identified victims may not be indicative of the true extent of the problem of trafficking. For a variety of valid reasons, victims of trafficking may not make their cases known to the authorities, as highlighted by the trafficked persons with whom the Special Rapporteur met.
3.112
Based on its global estimates, the Walk Free Foundation suggests there are an estimated 4,300 victims of modern slavery in Australia. The Walk Free Foundation highlights that most reported cases involve forced labour, and that based on reported cases, individuals vulnerable to forced labour include:
… those on temporary visas from developing countries, workers in industries such as industrial cleaning, meat works, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, domestic workers, people on bridging visas, and migrants.
3.113
The Committee heard that the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) administers the Human Trafficking and Slavery Research Program which aims to enhance the knowledge base on human trafficking and slavery in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The AIC is currently undertaking a National Human Trafficking and Slavery Monitoring Program pilot to improve and standardise the collection of statistical information on human trafficking and slavery in Australia.
3.114
The AIC submitted that the viability of an ongoing monitoring program would be assessed based on the outcomes of the pilot program. Dr Samantha Bricknell told the Committee that there are a number of challenges in estimating the prevalence of human trafficking and slavery in Australia:
The fundamental problem in terms of determining prevalence is the nature of the crime and the nature of the data. We know it is under-reported and under-detected, and that is often to do with the fact that the victims don't know where to report, they are reluctant to report, they aren't given the opportunity to report or they sometimes do not identify themselves as a victim of trafficking and slavery because they don't understand the exploitation they're being exposed to.
3.115
Dr Bricknell suggested that there are methodologies to determine prevalence used overseas that could be used in Australia, but would be dependent on:
… being able to get information from government and non-government agencies around victims and victim names and being able to match those across those agencies and doing a fairly sophisticated statistical technique to work out what the true or estimated prevalence of human trafficking and slavery is.
3.116
Submissions to this inquiry highlighted the lack of reliable data on the prevalence of modern slavery across Australia and recommended improvements to the way this data is collected and reported on. For example, Anti-Slavery Australia recommended that the Australian Government:
… continue to support the Australian Institute of Criminology in the development of an enhanced monitoring program on human trafficking and slavery, in order to better understand the prevalence of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like conditions in Australia.
Committee view
3.117
The Committee notes the significant challenges in measuring the prevalence of modern slavery in Australia. Modern slavery crimes are often ‘hidden in plain sight’, or not reported, making it difficult to identify victims and perpetrators.
3.118
The Committee is deeply concerned by anecdotal evidence that suggests modern slavery is particularly prevalent in migrant communities across a range of industries.
3.119
The Committee considers that measuring the prevalence of modern slavery is integral to addressing the problem in Australia. The Committee considers that the Australian Government should continue to support the AIC to further develop its pilot program to develop an enhanced monitoring program for modern slavery.
3.120
The Committee recommends that the Australian Government support the Australian Institute of Criminology to develop an enhanced research and monitoring program to better understand the prevalence of modern slavery in Australia.
Prevalence of modern slavery in Australian supply chains
3.121
The Committee heard that the challenges in measuring the prevalence of modern slavery in Australia and globally extend to the supply chains of entities operating in Australia.
3.122
As with other estimates, the Committee heard that there is limited data available on the prevalence of modern slavery in supply chains. For example, Anti-Slavery Australia noted that:
It is difficult to estimate the extent of practices of human trafficking and slavery in global supply chains. This is due to the clandestine nature of human trafficking and slavery, combined with the lack of transparency regarding supply chains at both the Australian and international level.
3.123
A further challenge for measuring the prevalence of modern slavery is the complexity of global trade and supply chains. The Committee heard that over the past 30 years, businesses have shifted from ‘vertically integrated firms’ that produce goods and raw materials, to sourcing more and more inputs from overseas, often from developing countries to reduce labour costs. Supply chains are divided into different ‘tiers’. ‘Tier 1’ suppliers are contracted directly to provide goods and services, who in turn may sub-contract to ‘tier 2’ suppliers.
3.124
To demonstrate this complexity, Ms Kate Nicholls, an independent supply chain consultant and lecturer at the University of Melbourne, gave the example of a shirt made in Bangladesh sold by an Australian retailer:
The back of this shirt will say 'made in Bangladesh' but what that actually means is that this shirt was assembled in Bangladesh. The fabric, the cotton, the dye, if there is a zip in it, if there is a button in it—all of those materials that go into assembling that product in Bangladesh can be sourced from elsewhere, of which there is largely not a lot of transparency. It can be up to three tiers or four tiers in a supply chain, and that is where the workers are vulnerable to exploitation.
3.125
The Committee heard that this complexity means many businesses have limited understanding of their supply chains beyond those ‘tier 1’ suppliers they contract with directly for goods and/or services. The Walk Free Foundation noted:
Typically, large businesses contract with hundreds if not thousands of external suppliers, sourcing from thousands of factories and engaging potentially with millions of workers. Very few own and operate factories directly. Investigating supply chains for modern slavery is challenging.
Data on at-risk industries
3.126
The Committee heard that the risks of modern slavery are particularly prevalent at the lower tiers of global supply chains, particularly in developing countries where there is less regulation, oversight and/or enforcement.
3.127
The Alliance 8.7 Global Estimates indicate that the main industries at risk of forced labour are domestic work, construction, manufacturing and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Figure 3.3 highlights the proportion of victims of forced labour by sector and distribution by gender.
3.128
The Committee heard that Australian supply chains are closely linked with countries and businesses in the Asia-Pacific region and many products are at high risk of being produced by forced labour and child labour. The Walk Free Foundation submitted:
Due to Australia’s close ties to the Asia Pacific region, where over two thirds of the victims of modern slavery are estimated to be based, Australian businesses and consumers are most likely unknowingly benefiting from modern slavery in the food we purchase, the clothes we buy, the suppliers we choose and the businesses in which we invest.
3.129
The Committee notes that as part of the Supply Chains Working Group, the Attorney-General’s Department has compiled a list of imported goods with a high risk of forced labour. Table 3.4 outlines the list of 14 goods and the value of imports to Australia.
Table 3.4: Goods produced with a high risk of forced labour and the value of imports to Australia
|
|
|
|
|
Bricks
(clay construction materials and refractory construction materials)
(lime, cement and fabricated construction materials excl. glass and clay materials)
|
476 198
476 189
|
568 878
548 911
|
|
Coal
(coal, coke and briquettes)
|
64 646
|
56 391
|
|
Cocoa
|
267 467
|
334 728
|
|
Coffee
(coffee and coffee substitutes)
|
722 990
|
825 151
|
|
Cotton
(not manufactured into yarn or fabric)
(fabrics, woven)
|
234
83719
|
396
79 242
|
|
Floor coverings
|
514 526
|
605 335
|
|
Footwear
|
1 958 052
|
2 281 331
|
|
Garments
(articles of apparel and clothing accessories)
|
7 808 863
|
9 024 643
|
|
Gems/jewellery/diamonds
(pearls and precious or semi-precious stones, unworked and worked)
(jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares and other articles of precious or semi-precious materials)
|
668 492
1 266 119
|
769 382
1 479 507
|
|
Natural rubber
|
12 031
|
13 173
|
|
Rice
|
199 037
|
199 598
|
|
Seafood (fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic invertebrates, and preparations thereof)
|
1 771 583
|
1 797 794
|
|
Sugars/sugar cane
(sugars, molasses and honey)
|
237 509
|
225 303
|
|
Textiles
(fibres unprocessed and waste)
(textile fibres processed)
|
102 865
3 235 449
|
102 756
3 683 317
|
* Commodity data based on ABS Standard International Trade Classification (SITC).
Source: The Salvation Army Freedom Partnership, Submission 199, pp 30–31.
3.130
Some submitters suggested that data on the prevalence of crimes such as forced labour is more reliable through examination of specific sectors. Dr Gallagher told the Committee:
… we should have a much more geographic and sector-specific focus. The best data, the best evidence, that I have seen has come out of ruthless and forensic-level examination of specific sectors—for example, the fishing sector in Thailand or the electronics manufacturing sector in Malaysia. You get a laser focus on this particular sector and it is pulled apart. Not only do you find out the number of people who are exploited; you find out who is exploiting them along the labour supply chain, which is another important supply chain; you find out what the companies are doing and what they are not doing, and you can also figure out what they can do better; and you actually find out about supply chains in a much more useful way. We can be ambitious about the numbers, but we should be very careful about pretending they are anything more than they are. I would suggest that we put resources and expertise into forensic-level analysis of sectors. And you can do that in Australia.
Case studies
3.131
While there may be limited data, the Committee notes the important work being done by a number of businesses and NGOs to investigate and address incidences of modern slavery in global supply chains. Submitters to the inquiry highlighted cases of modern slavery in the supply chains of a range of industries, including shipping, mining, nail bars, seafood, agriculture and textiles.
3.132
The following section outlines case studies of modern slavery identified by submitters in the supply chains of entities operating in Australia.
Garment industry
3.133
Over 40 million workers are employed in the garment industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Submitters highlighted that forced labour and other abuses have been reported in garment factories throughout the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, China, India and Cambodia.
3.134
The risk of exploitation in ‘sweat shops’ in the garment and clothing industry has been well publicised, particularly since the collapse of the overcrowded Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in April 2013, killing 1134 textile workers. The disaster highlighted the exploitation of garment workers in Bangladesh and implicated a number of major clothing brands in Australia and around the world.
3.135
For example, a number of submitters highlighted the 2015 case of surf brand Rip Curl which was found to be perpetuating slave-like practices as its Chinese supplier, in breach of contract terms, was sub-contracting to a manufacturer in North Korea using forced labour.
3.136
Since 2013, Baptist World Aid Australia has published an annual Ethical Fashion Report. Box 3.6 outlines the findings from the 2017 Ethical Fashion report.
Box 3.6: Garment industry – Asia-Pacific
Baptist World Aid Australia’s 2017 Ethical Fashion Report graded 106 companies and 330 brands on their efforts to ensure they are upholding the rights of workers, including a safe work place, a living wage and freedom from slavery.
Baptist World Aid Australia highlighted that, since the Rana Plaza tragedy, ‘efforts to improve conditions for workers have accelerated, spurred on by increased public scrutiny’. The report highlighted that more companies are investing to increase worker wages, trace their suppliers and publish supplier lists.
However, the report also found that only 39% of companies had traced the majority of their input suppliers and only 7% had traced the majority of their raw material suppliers. Only one of the 106 reviewed could demonstrate they were paying living wages to all workers, and only 20% of companies could demonstrate that more than 50% of their suppliers had democratically elected trade unions or collective bargaining agreements.
Palm oil industry
3.137
Forced labour and child labour has also been highlighted as a particular issue in the palm oil supply chain in South East Asia. Palm oil is used in 50% of common food and consumer products ranging from ice-cream and chocolate to shampoo and toothpaste.
3.138
Box 3.7 highlights Amnesty International’s recent report on child labour and labour abuse in the palm oil supply chain. Mr Michael Hayworth from Amnesty International told the Committee that:
Amnesty International's recent report on palm oil and child labour plantations in Indonesia shows how simple it is, in a global supply chain context, for child labour to seep into something as innocuous as a pop-tart or some toothpaste.
Box 3.7: Palm oil – South East Asia
In 2016, Amnesty International conducted an investigation into the production of palm oil by Singapore-based company Wilmar, which controls 43% of the world palm oil trade.
The report found that some of the world’s biggest companies, including those operating in Australia, are benefiting from and contributing to severe labour abuses, including child labour, in the palm oil supply chain. These abuses include:
subjecting workers to banned toxic chemicals ;
subjecting children as young as 8 years old to hazardous work; and
hiring women as casual daily labourers to deny them permanent employment and social security benefits and paying them as little as $2.50 per day.
Fishing industry
3.139
A number of submitters highlighted the instances of slavery, bonded labour and forced labour in the fishing industry, particularly in Thailand which is the largest source of seafood imports to Australia. Box 3.8 highlights cases of slavery in the seafood industry in South East Asia.
Box 3.8: Fishing industry – South East Asia
A number of studies and investigative journalists have documented the abuse of migrant workers in the fishing industry in South East Asia. The reports have highlighted the trafficking of men and boys, including from Cambodia, Bangladesh and Myanmar (such as Rohingya refugees), onto criminally run Thai fishing vessels where they suffer severe abuse including excessive work hours, beatings and death. Reports also highlighted abuse in the seafood processing industry with workers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos forced to work in slave-like conditions.
The reports highlighted how these seafood products were found to be part of the seafood supply chains for a range of major businesses around the world.
3.140
In its supplementary submission, the Salvation Army Freedom Partnership highlighted that the Justice and International Mission Unit of the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania has been working with the Seafood Importers Association of Australia to encourage action by the Thai government and seafood industry to eliminate these abuses. The Unit reports that it has had positive engagement with some of Australia’s largest companies, including Nestlé, Coles and Woolworths.
3.141
Despite efforts by the Thai government to address these issues, submitters highlighted that slavery continues. Human Rights Watch submitted that its research based on interviews with more than 250 current and former fishing workers has found:
… that forced labor remains pervasive on Thai fishing vessels, while networks of underground brokers, traffickers, and corrupt Thai police and other officials continue to deceive and traffic men onto fishing vessels.
Committee view
3.142
The Committee is deeply concerned by anecdotal evidence about the prevalence of modern slavery in the supply chains of businesses operating in Australia and around the world.
3.143
The Committee acknowledges that the case studies presented in this chapter highlight just a few of the many examples put forward by submitters to the inquiry. The Committee is grateful to all those submitters for bringing these cases to the Committee’s attention.
3.144
The Committee notes that this evidence highlights the importance of taking action to introduce a supply chain reporting requirement for entities operating in Australia.
3.145
The Committee notes that measures to address modern slavery in supply chains are examined in detail in Chapter 5.